Psionics are a heavily studied topic among scientists in the Empire and Rebellion alike. Usually human, and extremely rare, even more rare among alien species somehow, these powerful mutations are quite useful when trained properly. For the Empire, it means ruthless beatings, torture, and finally, brainwashing the individual into full compliance when their guard is finally broken. For the Rebellion, and other less extreme Imperial sectors, it means training by another wielder of such powers.
These powers themselves can vary, but usually manifest into telekenesis, mind reading, and other abilities. Mind reading is very rare, and usually only found among the ranksof the Empire, where they are ruthless hunters called Inquisitors, who seek out and destroy rebellion where they find it.
Outside Imperial control, they can be useful gamblers or con artists, as they can read minds, or push dice, coins, chips, etc around to get the right number or winning combo, and some have been said to be able to even manipulate gaming machines to be able to check the odds and beat the machine's programmed-in house advantage.
